


Rivals Upon Rivals

by PokemonKatt



Series: Trans Tobias [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: M/M, Omo?, Other, Pokemon Journey, Rivalry, Secrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:48:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22700491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PokemonKatt/pseuds/PokemonKatt
Summary: When all of Ash's main rivals meet each other at the Synergy Festival in Ferrum, they decide to go on a journey together. They discover each other's secrets and help with all of the problems they face.
Relationships: Shinji | Paul/Takuto | Tobias
Series: Trans Tobias [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735660
Kudos: 8





	1. The First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group of rivals meet for the first time with some already acquainted.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the annual Synergy Festival here in Neos City!" A woman stood on a huge stage. She had a pink frilly tank top, blue jeans and brown fur boots. Her dark brown ponytail lightly swayed in the wind as her emerald eyes looked at the crowd in front of her. This woman was Katt Sherry, Ferrum and World Champion. Amongst the crowd were some familiar faces.

Alain was near the back of the crowd, trying to listen in close. Being a good friend to the champion, he was hoping to get a front row seat, but forgot to ask. Luckily, due to Katt's loud voice combined with the speakers and microphone, he heard every word. Suddenly, he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around to see an event escortee there. She had a clipboard in hand.

"Excuse me, are you Mr Alain Sycamore?" She asked. Alain grinned and nodded. "Great! We heard about your Lumiose Conference win a couple of years back. We were hoping you could do an exhibition match against Mr Tobias Lashwood. Is that ok with you?" Alain nodded again in response. "Lovely! Follow me!" She walked out of the crowd and towards the stadium. Alain quickly followed. When they arrived in the stadium, the escortee stopped. "From here, take the right hallway and go in the third door on the left. Wait there until you are called."

"Thank you." Alain bluntly spoke and walked away. He entered the room the escortee told him to go into. Tobias was there with a mug of coffee in his hands. When he made eye contact with Alain, he put it down on the glass coffee table and got up.

"Hello. You must be Alain?" He kicked off the conversation.

"Yes. Alain Sycamore, nice to meet you." Alain stretched his hand out to Tobias, who took it and shook it.

"Tobias Lashwood. Nice to meet you too."

"Anyways, what are you doing in a place like Ferrum?"

"Well, I felt like doing a bit of exploring here and then heard about the Synergy Festival. I also heard Ash was here, so---"

"Wait, you know Ash? Ash Ketchum?"

"Yeah, we got to know each other quite well after the Sinnoh League before he left for Unova."

"We saved Kalos together! He's REALLY strong!"

"That's what makes him such a great trainer! No wonder he gets so many women!"

"Trust me, you should've seen what he was like with Serena. She always swooned over him."

"Ahem. Gentlemen." Another voice spoke. Both trainers looked at the door. The event escortee was there. "When you're done with your gossip, we're ready for you. Get one Pokemon and get to the battlefield." She walked away, leaving the two trainers alone again.

"I guess we should get to the battlefield then." Alain grabbed one of his PokeBalls with Tobias grabbing one of his own. They walked out and went to the battlefield.

It took a while, but the exhibition match ended with a draw. Both Charizard and Darkrai were heavily injured and needed medical attention. The two trainers returned their Pokemon, shook hands, then walked out together.

"Thank you, your Pokemon should be fully healed!" Nurse Joy gave the PokeBalls back an hour later. Alain and Tobias picked them up. Suddenly, another trainer ran in with a Serperior in his arms. It was Trip, another one of Ash's rivals. "Welcome, do you need any help?"

"Yes, can you please help my Serperior? It's badly poisoned and I have no antidotes or pecha berries." He asked. Nurse Joy took the Serperior from him and layed it down on the emergency bed. A Chansey wheeled it away.

"It shouldn't take long at all. Serperior will be fine." Nurse Joy tried to reassure Trip and walked away in the direction of the emergency bed. Trip sat down, nervously.

"Hey, are you ok?" Alain sat down next to Trip, hoping to help him out.

"Yeah, just worried for my Pokemon, that's all. Trainer instincts." He chuckled a little. "The trainer who poisoned my Serperior is quite a powerhouse. His Sceptile is insane."

"Sceptile? One of my friends owns a Sceptile. Do you know his name?"

"Sawyer Shotana, I think."

"That's him. We became good friends thanks to another friend of mine, Ash."

"Ash Ketchum?"

"You know him?"

"Yeah, he was my rival in Unova. I beat his Pikachu with a Snivy."

"Cool. Hey, what's your name?"

"Trip Langston. You must be the Kalos Prodigy, Alain Sycamore, right?" Trip's question made Alain blush a little.

"Prodigy? Aww, I wouldn't say that!"

"Yeah, I used two legendaries." Tobias scoffed, almost sarcastically. The other two trainers looked at him with quite a blank stare. "What? I was just saying it, jeez..." As he said that, Nurse Joy walked back in with Serperior beside her. It was at the peak of health. Trip hugged Serperior and put it in its PokeBall.

"Thank you!" Trip simply thanked Nurse Joy and walked out. Alain and Tobias followed.

"Hey Trip, do you want to explore some of the festival with us?" Tobias offered. Trip grinned widely and nodded.

Two hours went by. Along the way, the trio met up with Sawyer. They were all enjoying some candy floss as they walked around the main plaza, figuring out what to do. In the distance, the group noticed four guys on the dodgems. The four were Gary, Paul, Gladion and Hau, who had met up earlier on in the day and got to know each other quite well. They looked like they were having lots of fun. Tobias knew Paul already from the Sinnoh League, so he called him over.

"Hey Tobias, what are you doing here?" Paul asked with a grin on his face. The other three stopped.

"I was just exploring, then met these guys. I feel like there's one thing that has drawn us together." Tobias explained. Paul nodded, knowing what it is.

"It's Ash, isn't it?" Gary yelled from the other side of the dodgems area. The group nodded. "Cool! I'm Gary! Gary Oak!"

"Nice to meet you!" Alain called over to him. The group hopped out of the dodgems and they all got in a circle in the plaza. "So, who are you guys?"

"Well, I'm Paul Lanedridge. I've known Tobias for a while, but I'm not very familiar with the rest of you."

"Hau Hanson, Alola legend! Good to meet you!"

"Lastly, I'm Gladion Aetherstone, the actual Alola legend."

"Oh, shut up!" Hau rolled his eyes, a bit annoyed at Gladion's comment.

"I'm Tobias Lashwood, this is Alain Sycamore, Sawyer Shotana and Trip Langston." Tobias introduced the others and himself.

"Wait, Sycamore? You're one of the famous Sycamore siblings?!" Gary's eyes lit up as he looked at Alain.

"Uhh...yeah. One of my brothers is the Kalos Pokemon Professor, my other brother owns the best hospital in Kalos and is an incredible doctor and my sister has been responsible for some of the most advanced pieces of tech in existence, like the holo-watch." Alain explained. Gary's eyes lit up even more.

"Wow! What about you?"

"Ehh, I'm the diabetic of the family and the strongest battle wise."

"Cool!"

"Hey guys, it's getting a bit late, we should get a hotel room." Gladion pointed at the sky. It was sunset already?!

"Oh my, good point! Let's go!" Tobias ran ahead to the hotel as the others swiftly followed.

Several hours went by. It was now midnight and all of the guys were fast asleep with sweet dreams. All except Paul, who wasn't having any sweet dreams. In fact, a nightmare was what he was having and it caused him to wake up, sitting up quickly. His breathing was heavy and sweat was dripping off his forehead. He sighed, realising nothing that happened in his nightmare was real. He tried to get back to sleep, only becoming successful after half an hour of restlessness.

Was it fate or just pure luck that they came together?


	2. A Festival's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Synergy Festival comes to an end and the group are about to go their separate ways, but a special someone gives them an idea that keeps them together.

Morning came. It was 7AM in Neos Hotel and the group were starting to awaken from their slumbers. One of them had been up for almost an hour already.

Gary was outside on a morning walk, taking in the scenery. Ferrum was a beautiful place and even though he was in the middle of a huge city, it was still a great place.

"Morning! What are you doing out there?" He heard a voice and looked up. Sawyer was looking out the window of the staircase in the hotel, ready to go.

"Just a morning walk! Are the others ready?"

"Most of them, but Alain won't get up. He's a deep sleeper."

"Ok!"

Three boring hours passed by. The group were at the stadium to watch an exhibition match before the ending ceremony began. Katt stood in the middle of the stadium with her Hawlucha by her side.

"Welcome everyone!" The crowd cheered. "This battle will be one that no one has ever seen before! It's sure to be a wild ride! Now, many of you may know this trainer for being kind hearted, selfless, heroic and most of all, powerful. He has triumphed over many of his rivals and he takes every loss in his stride and counting every victory as one step closer to his goal of being a Pokemon Master! He is Alola's current champion, please welcome, all the way from Pallet Town, ASH KETCHUM!" Katt walked to her side of the battlefield with Hawlucha close behind as a very familiar face walked out onto the battlefield. He had a stripey purple jacket with a black cap. The cap had a yellow lightning bolt at the front. He had his signature leggings and boots, along with his famed partner, Pikachu. The crowd went insane. Ash waved at them and when he saw his plethora of rivals, he smiled at them. Gary waved back at him whilst the others just waited for the match to start.

"Ready Pikachu?" Ash asked his partner, who nodded in repsonse and leaped onto the field. Hawlucha did the same.

"You better be ready, I won't go easy on you." Hawlucha warned Pikachu, who nodded again.

The battle was over in just over two minutes. Hawlucha was just too strong, even for Pikachu. Ash picked up Pikachu and walked to the middle of the stadium with Katt doing the same.

"Good battle. You're certainly stronger than when we first met. Let's battle again one day." She stretched her hand out and Ash shook it. Katt turned to the crowd. "Now, time for the ending ceremony! Thank you all for attending the Synergy Festival! I hope you all had fun! We'll see you next time!" Katt waved to the crowd and ran out of the battlefield. Hawlucha also ran off. Ash left in the opposite direction with Pikachu in his arms.

After the ending ceremony, the group sat together on the hotel roof.

"So...where do we go from here?" Paul broke the awkward silence. They all looked at each other.

"I guess we just go home...I wish we could stay together a bit longer..." Alain sighed.

"You can if you wish. Feel free to take part in the Synergy Tournament." A voice spoke. The group looked at where it was coming from. Katt was there with Ash next to her. "The Synergy Tournament is quite new. Unlike the regular Ferrum League, it only happens once every five years. You have to collect Synergy tokens from the four Ferrum Guardians. They're at the far edges of Ferrum, so your battles will most likely be right next to the sea. If you choose to take part, it's an excuse for you all to travel together. Maybe you can even come to my own summer camp if you want! It'll be at Thalia Beach if you wish to join." Katt explained, nearly running out of breath. "Anyways, I should get going. I need to get back to the Lab. Ash, are you coming?"

"One sec, I want a moment alone with these guys." Ash walked up to the group as Katt went downstairs. "Well, well, well...I never expected you guys to stick together, let alone meet each other. I wonder how things will go between you guys. See you around." Ash went downstairs with a smug grin. He knew there were some secrets hidden inside them and the others would expose them with time.

This is just the beginning of their journey.


	3. A Journey's Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group has set off on their journey and are already close to finding out one person's biggest secret which could change everything for the person crushing on them, or so they thought...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a mature section! If you are underage, I suggest avoiding it! The dashes signal the mature section, so look out for them! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

A week had passed since the group set off from Neos City. Due to a big storm that suddenly appeared, they were forced to stay in a Pokemon Centre only an hour away from the city. This was their actual first day of their journey. They decided to start with the North Guardian to get their first token for their token cases. As they walked along the forest path, they had a general chat about their lives and also about Ash.

"Wow, you really liked him, didn't you?" Gary gave a smug grin in Alain's direction.

"Yeah...I have to admit, I even had a crush on him at one point, but those feelings quickly went away. I was still questioning my sexuality before meeting him and I never had a crush on a girl previously, so everything just clicked for me. When I finally found someone I truly had feelings for, I knew I was gay. I came out to my family only about two or three years back. My siblings loved me for who I was, but my Mum wasn't really the same way...she's homophobic and when I came out, she thought she didn't have any kids anymore...I was the last one to come out of the closet, you see." Alain explained in depth. The others looked at him sympathetically.

"Wow, I never knew. You could've told me if you needed help." Sawyer gave him a little nudge. Alain gave a weak smile, then the group came to a halt.

"This is a nice place to set up camp. What do you guys think?" Hau asked. The others nodded. They had found a more open area of the forest and there was a river just behind a single tree line. "Let's get set up then!"

An hour and a half passed. The group had set up camp. Trip and Gladion had gone to get some decent firewood as a lot of the stuff nearby was damp from the storm. The others were sitting on huge logs they had dragged out to use as a seating area. They were talking about their favourite foods and their own adventures. Most of them were well into the conversation, but Tobias wasn't listening to much of it. He was distracted by something and he was fidgety with his hand resting on his lap. Due to his fidgeting, the log was moving a tiny bit. It was enough for Alain to notice as he was sitting on the same log as him.

"Hey, can you stop moving the log?" Alain asked with a bit of an annoyed look. Tobias looked at him, worried, then looked at his feet as his hands slowly slipped in between his legs. Alain's annoyed look became sympathetic. "Oh, do you need to go to the bathroom?" Tobias nodded in response. He was very quiet. "Well, nature's calling me as well. Come on, it's better to go now than later."

"I prefer my privacy..." Tobias got up and speed walked away towards the river area. Alain went the same way, but went further away from Tobias. He unzipped his trousers behind a tree and let it out, sighing in relief as he did so. It only took a minute for him to finish. When he zipped his trousers back up, he heard some rustling in the bushes on the other side of the river. Alain hopped over to the other side and crept toward where the rustling had come from.

"Eevee!" He heard from the bushes. It was a Pokemon! He thought he might be able to catch it. He hid behind the tree right next to the bushes.

"Gotcha!" He jumped out from behind the tree and stared right into the bushes. What he saw was an Eevee, but also something he didn't expect. Tobias was there with his trousers around his knees and he got a glimpse of lilac briefs with a small indigo bow on the front in them. He had his hands on both of them, like he was pulling them down. Since he was leaning over, his cloak was just long enough to cover up his private area. Since there was no wet patch under him, he hadn't gone yet. Alain froze, staring, unsure of what to do. Tobias blushed intensly and looked as if he was about to cry. "I'm sorry! I didn't know you---"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" He screamed, catching the attention of the others from the camp, who rushed into the forest.

"What's going on?!" Gary asked loudly. Alain hopped back over the river and stopped any of the others from crossing.

"Don't go over there!" Alain demanded, pointed to the bushes Tobias was in.

"We heard Tobias scream! He might be in danger!" Paul nearly hopped over the river but Alain grabbed him by the collar before he could cross.

"He's fine! I check and found him in quite a...nevermind! He just needs some space for a few minutes." Alain walked back to the camp, calming himself down.

It didn't take long for Tobias to return. He was still blushing as he sat back down, staring at the ground.

"Hey...what's wrong?" Hau asked, looking at the humiliated trainer with sympathy. Tobias looked over at Alain, stared for a few seconds, then began to cry, burying his face in his hands. The others started asking if he was alright and what the problem was, trying to help him. Alain stayed quiet, looking at the ground, guiltily.

"I was just trying to...you know...and he just jumped out from behind the tree..." Tobias pointed at Alain subtly.

"I heard an Eevee and I didn't know he was there. I just wanted to catch it, not invade Tobias' privacy...I'm sorry, ok? I didn't mean any harm..." Alain apologised. "I was so frozen in surprise, I just stared, unsure of what to do. I wanted to look away or run away, but couldn't."

"Surprised at what?" Trip looked at Alain, confused. Alain looked at Tobias for his input. He just nodded, signalling he could tell them what happened.

"I wouldn't have been so surprised if it wasn't for the fact he had his trousers and underwear down to his knees." He confessed to the group. They looked at Tobias, even more confused. He had stopped crying at this point.

"I didn't have much of a choice." Tobias bluntly stated.

"Have you ever seen a dude prefer to squat in the woods instead of just whip it out and go? Did your balls get chopped off or something?" Gary's questions hit Tobias hard.

"It's not that simple." He got up. Rage started to boil up inside him.

"Oh really? Well it's not like you're a cissy or a tranny of something like---"

"I AM THOUGH! I'M TRANSGENDER!" Tobias snapped, cutting Gary off and confessing his biggest secret. The others stood back a little, minus Paul and Alain, who stayed completely still. Tobias' eyes widened and he covers his mouth, realising what he said. Alain grinned.

"So that's why. Don't worry, it doesn't change who you are. One of my brothers is transgender and he's the Pokemon Professor of Kalos." Alain patted him on the shoulder. Suddenly, Paul hugged him from behind.

"It's completely fine. You are who you are. You're still a strong and loving man to me." Paul looked up at Tobias and grinned.

"I'm sorry if I was being insensitive, I had no idea...I spoke without thinking..." Gary apologised and gave him a guilty look.

"If there's anything you need, you can ask us, ok? We'll give you the space you need." Gladion gave him a warm smile. The others followed. Tobias couldn't handle it and began to cry again.

"Hey, hey, it's ok! We're here for you!" Alain hugged him tightly and spoke with a reassuring tone.

"No, no, it's fine. It's just...no one has ever really respected me after telling them I'm trans...the happiness is just too much for me...!" Tobias managed to speak, almost choking on his words. "Thank you guys for sticking with me..."

"It's ok. I love you." Paul muttered.

"What did you say?" Tobias stopped crying and looked at Paul, who turned bright red.

"It's nothing! It's fine!" Paul let go and let out a nervous chuckle. Tobias winked at him, causing him to turn an even brighter red.

"My gaydar is going off right now. Either that or my stomach." Alain chuckled.

"I'll begin lunch then!" Sawyer got out some cooking ingredients and the compact table before beginning lunch preparations.

Night fell after several hours of chatting and training. They had a huge tent which split into four little rooms on the corners and a main area in the middle. There were two guys per corner, so enough room for everyone.

Tobias was staring at the wall of the tent, thoughts buzzing through his mind. Paul was doing the same thing. Both were so close together and they could feel their hearts beating faster than normal. They turned to face each other in sync and ended up booping each others' noses. They let out a quiet chuckle and stared into each others' eyes.

"I actually heard what you said earlier. You really do love me? Even though I'm trans?" Tobias whispered, so he didn't wake the others up. Paul couldn't help but blush.

"Yeah...I actually had a crush on you ever since your match with Ash...I looked up to you and always felt lovestruck when you were with me. Now I know who you really are, I don't love you any less...I love you even more...I want to be with you forever..." Paul's words rang in Tobias' ears. He blushed at Paul's confession and acted on it. He sat up with Paul doing the same.

"I really admired you for being a strong trainer...you're funny, a good planner, energetic, sweet, cute and caring. You're like an angel sent by Arceus. You may have your down days, but I'll help yoh through it. I love you too, Paul." Tobias also confessed. Paul instantly reacted.

He kissed him with no hesitation.

* * *

It started to get a bit more passionate. Quiet moans came out from each of them as they refused to let go of each other. Paul acted on quite a dirty idea. He lifted up Tobias' long top (which acted like a gown/dress) and slowly slipped a hand into his lilac briefs. Tobias stopped the kissing and leaned back a little.

"What are you doing?" He asked. Paul quickly retracted his hand, trying not to hurt him.

"Sorry! Did I go too far?"

"No, I was just curious...it felt weird, but sort of satisfying." Tobias grinned. The two of them began to kiss again and Paul did the same thing by slipping his hand into Tobias' briefs. He had a bit of a play around "downstairs", trying to find a good spot. He hit a small lump and Tobias let out a quite loud moan.

"Did that feel good?" Paul gave him a dirty smirk. Tobias grinned again and nodded. "Let's take things up a notch."

As the night went on, the two boys got even more passionate. By the time they were done, their underwear was all sticky from their "substances". Paul quickly wiped his hands with a tissue and hid it in a small pocket in his bag.

"Ok, we should actually get some sleep." Paul layed down onto his pillow and fell asleep. Tobias did the same.

* * *

Morning arrived and the couple woke up to the smell of breakfast. They slowly got up and exited the tent.

"About time you two got up. Even I was up before you!" Alain looked at them with quite a serious look.

"Sorry, we had a rough night." Tobias apologised with Paul nodding along.

"Yeah, definitely rough. I could hear your moans." Gladion gave them a smug grin, causing the couple to blush. "Also, I tried to wake the two of you up an hour earlier. Nice briefs." His added comment made Tobias blush even more.

"You shouldn't have been looking there!" He scolded the Alolan trainer.

"Considering the bottom of your top was above your stomach, you were basically flashing them at me. Also, what was with the wet spot?"

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Tobias yelled angrily, causing the others to jump a little. "Sorry, lost my temper there. I should get changed, I'll be out in a sec." He went back into the tent and got changed, including changing his underwear. When he was out, Paul went in to change. When he was done, they joined the table for breakfast.

The rest of the morning went by awkwardly beforenthey packed up camp and set off for the north.


	4. Desperate Mountain Troubles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the group gets separated on a mountain, things get serious and they are forced to call a rescue team.

They were almost at the North Guardian's temple, where the token would be. All the group had to do was get past the mountain range. Unfortunately, one of the mountains they had to climb over was quite unstable.

"Wow, that's really high..." Paul pointed to the top of the mountain. It really was high.

"Yeah, but we haven't got a choice. The other mountains are too steep and dangerous to climb. Besides, this one has a path all the way around." Alain walked up to the beginning of the path.

"I'll take the lead." Tobias walked passed him, with Paul nearly glued to his side. The others followed.

Suddenly, only a third of the way up, a large boulder came crashing down onto the path. Gladion ended up getting separated on the lower side.

"Gladion! Are you ok?!" Hau called round the side, being very careful not to fall off.

"I'm fine, but I might not be able to get round! I'll wait here!" He answered. The other carried on.

Just as they thought nothing else could go wrong, another boulder fell, separating Tobias and Paul from the other five. The duo ended up on the higher side and were able to get to the top quickly.

"Are you guys ok?" Tobias peeked over the edge and waved at the other five.

"We're fine, just a bit shocked!" Alain answered for the entire group. Now they were all separated.

An hour passed. Things were getting bad. Tobias and Paul could carry on, but wanted to wait. At the middle, the guys were playing rock, paper, scissors. Trip was a bit distracted by something, but wasn't afraid to confess it.

"Guys?" He got the others' attention.

"What's wrong?" Sawyer asked, curiously.

"I have to pee." Trip answered with a worried look.

"Can you wait until we get off of the mountain or are you too desperate?"

"I don't know how long it'll take, but my best guess is no."

"Go now then." Sawyer's tone was a bit demanding. He cared for the health of others, which is why he didn't want Trip to hold it in too long.

"Ok..." The slightly desperate trainer got up and walked a little further down the mountain. He looked around, then unzipped his trousers before letting it go. He hummed in delight and it didn't take him long to finish. He rezipped and headed back to the group. Alain had enough when he returned and decided to call for a rescue team.

Up at the top, a similar situation was occuring. Both Paul and Tobias had needed to go for a while now and were getting desperate.

"How much longer?" Paul asked, looking at Tobias. He just shrugged. "I have a bit of a situation..."

"Same here..."

"It's better to go now than later." Paul walked to the edge, but refused to look down.

"I can't with you right there."

"Go on the other side and face the edge. I won't look." Paul unzipped and did his business. Tobias had a look around to see if he was in sight of anyone. He grabbed the rim of his trousers and briefs, took a deep breath and pulled then down to his knees before crouching down. The breeze on his bare skin was the signal his body needed. He let it out, a sigh of relief overcoming him. When he was finally done, he pulled them back up. Paul had already finished and rezipped back then. His back was turned the whole time.

"Thanks for keeping your back turned."

"No problem. It's basic privacy." Both let out a chuckle.

As if a miracle occured, a helicopter appreared with the others inside. The duo got inside and shut the door.

"Don't worry boys, I'll take you to the temple." A very familiar voice reasurred the group. It was Katt.

"Since when do you fly a helicopter?!" Alain asked, very confused.

"It's been a while." She answered, laughing.

They flew off towards the temple.


	5. Temple Battle Number 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group finally reach the North Temple and meet the North guardian after a quick lift. A certain someone has already beaten them to it.

The North Temple, only three miles from the coast. The group looked from the helicopter in awe. It was huge, but not the fanciest of the places. It was the most run down of the lot. Katt found an open space and landed the helicopter. The boys got out, grabbing onto their stuff as tightly as possible and covering their ears due to how loud it was. The propellers then slowed down and stopped.

"Good luck boys! I'll give you a lift back to Neos City when you're done." She winked and saluted at them. The boys ran towards the temple and went inside. They came to a halt with Alain quite a distance away from the others. No one was there.

"Where is this guardian? Are we in the wrong place?" Alain looked around, confused and took a step forward, but accidentally stepped on what seemed like a hidden button. A cage fell down from the ceiling, trapping him inside. His right leg got caught underneath part of it and due to how hard it came down, there was a snapping sound. He let out a scream of pain. Someone appeared out of nowhere. The guardian was a woman with black hair. She was in a red guardian suit. She walked up to the cage and smirked.

"You poor little thing. I thought you would know about the hidden trap considering you're an adult." She let out a quiet giggle. Alain just stared at her with a look that begged for help.

"Please just get this thing off of me...!" He sounded like he was going to cry from how much it hurt to move.

"Fine, you're no fun." The guardian pressed a button on the wall and the cage went back up to the ceiling. Alain tried to get up and walk on his bad leg, but he immediately collapsed again. "Aww, it's just a little break, you'll be fine."

"It could be a lot more serious than that." Tobias growled. The guardian was certainly strange. She gave a flirtatious look to him.

"So the cutie of the group is the tough cookie, eh? Hehehe, now then, I wonder if you're like that last guy."

"Who?"

"Ash Ketchum, the chosen one." The name that the guardian said sent a chill down all of their spines. Ash had beaten them here.

"Nevermind, let's fight!" Gladion sent out Silvally eagerly. The guardian smirked again. She sent out a Machamp.

"As the North Temple guardian, I challenge you to a battle for the North Synergy token! Give it your best shot and don't let me down!" She yelled before starting to fight the guys one by one.

They all won with relative ease. The group could tell the Machamp had only recently evolved and wasn't used to it yet. Alain was sitting on the floor the entire time, unable to get up.

"Good job, boys! I present you all with your North Synergy tokens!" She held out an array of red tokens. The boys all grabbed one, putting them into their token cases with a click. The tokens locked in place. "Also, the bit before my battle was just my persona kicking in. Will you be ok with that bad leg?" The guardian expressed concern for Alain. Gary and Tobias helped him up and supported his weight.

"The Champion is waiting for us in a helicopter, we'll be ok." Hau pointed to the helicpoter outside. "What's your name by the way?"

"Shakira." She answered simply.

"Ah, waka waka?" Hau chuckled, referencing the singer Shakira. She instantly slapped him.

"Not the singer. Now, leave." The boys left, leaving Shakira be. They got back into the helicopter and Katt flew towards Neos City.

"Hotel?" She asked.

"No, hospital. That guardian set a cage trap and broke my leg." Alain explained. Katt let out a huff, a bit annoyed.

"Shakira always does that. I tell her to stop and she never does." She groaned and carried on flying.


End file.
